As Japan, Britain and Italy prepare for the full development and design phase of their joint next-generation fighter aircraft program, companies involved in the project have already begun working on some of their own artificial intelligence-enabled drones that could potentially operate with the sixth-generation platform.
Both Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Britain¡¯s BAE Systems, lead system integrators in the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) alongside Italy¡¯s Leonardo, displayed models of uncrewed systems at this week¡¯s Japan International Aerospace Exhibition that could potentially tie in with the multibillion-dollar program.
While some of the concepts appear to be similar to that of Australia¡¯s Loyal Wingman project, the drones are being designed to not only support and escort combat aircraft but also perform their own missions, including reconnaissance, electronic warfare and precision-strike operations.
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